Family-run Halifax restaurant that is one of the town's favourites celebrates new space

The well-known Halifax town centre restaurant – run by a team of brothers – has expanded and undergone a revamp, creating a whole new space and a fresh new look.

Its owners believe the expansion means it is now one of the biggest restaurants in West Yorkshire.

La Luna, in Westgate Arcade, has extended into what used to house fashion boutique Coco Boo Loves next door, adding an extra space for 30 more diners.

The move has also meant the restaurant can once again have a bar area – so people can visit for coffee and cake or a drink.

Sam Yumusak, a former banker and one of the brothers who own La Luna, explained the previous bar area had to be used for dining when the restaurant re-opened after the pandemic because they were so busy.

"People were fighting to get in,” he said.

"Over the last two years what we have noticed is people come and have a meal and then go home. They don’t go anywhere else.

"We knew if we had a bar area, they could come for a coffee and some cake, or start their evening here, have a meal and then end it with a drink here.

"We’re really pleased with the expansion.”

The restaurant also has some new decor and a whole new set of furniture across the ground floor and VIP and function lounge upstairs.

It meant Sam and some of his team working from 7am on Monday until 2am the following day to install 110 tables ad 180 chairs but they managed to swap all of the furniture over without closing the restaurant.

But it is not the first time the restaurant has extended.

The brothers – Sam, Matt, Tony and Maksut – took over what was then Blue Dahlia in 2002. Back then, the restaurant was only the size of the current middle section and specialised in full English breakfasts.

La Luna still opens for breakfast as a nod to how they started but as the restaurant has grown in popularity, so has the premises and the food it offers.

"We saw the same customers who came in the morning coming in for lunch and also in the evening,” said Sam.

"We’ve just got busier and busier.”

A previous expansion, in 2019, was again carried out without having to close, although it meant contractors – and the brothers – often working through the night.

And a revamp of the kitchen saw a pop-up kitchen being set up in Westgate Arcade, again so the restaurant did not have to close.

The opening of the Green Room comes just in time for the start of The Piece Hall’s summer gigs. Because of its proximity and tasty food, La Luna has become a go-to for many concert-goers before the shows.

Times have been hard for the hospitality industry, Sam said, with the rocketing cost of living squeezing people’s incomes.

"Some faces that we used to see two or three times a week, we now only see once a month,” he said.

"I understand. People have to budget and the first thing they cut out is eating out.”

But the restaurant is still a firm favourite for many in the town and beyond, and Sam attributes its success to the high quality of its food, service and team.

"A lot of restaurants have a high staff turnover. We don’t,” he said.

"We have some staff who have worked here for 10 years.

"We train our staff to be how we would want to be served.

"As a general rule, I think if I don’t like something, I assume a customer wouldn’t either.”